To Find Love
by Ekko Rayne
Summary: This is Zero's story after Yuuki has left with Kaname. A new love is found despite the hardships of life. Read A/N inside for better summary. This is just a sweet simple story of finding love. Please Read and Review. Flames are welcome.
1. Prologue: A Mystery Arrival

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or Vampire Knight Guilty or any of the charcters and storyline affiliated with the anime or the manga. All rights are reserved for it character. I only own my own character that I created for this story.**_

_Author's Note: This story takes place after the Vampire Knight Guilty final episode. Since Yuuki decided to go away with Kaname I wanted to write a story so that Zero, too, could have a happy ending. So this is his story of how he finds love again after being abandoned by the one girl he had ever cared for. I hope you readers enjoy the story. Though I was totally rooting for Yuuki and Zero I have to admit that I was disappointed when she went off with Kaname. It was completely obvious how she felt about Zero. Oh well. Here's his story of love found again. Enjoy!_

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**Prologue: A New Mystery Arrival**

A man, broken by love's twisted agony, stood atop the highest point of Cross Academy. His eyes kept vigil as he scanned the surrounding grounds for anything that looked out of place. Although his eyes missed nothing his heart did. His heart ached for the girl the he had lost some months ago.

He had truly loved her as he had loved no other. He missed her on these long lonely nights as he went about his duties. She had once been his partner, his friend, the one and only girl that made his sad existence worth living. Though he missed her terribly, he hated thinking about her. All it ever did was bring about a fresh wave a pain. It was torment, like reopened wounds left open to fester and bleed.

Thoughts of her russet hair made his hands ache from wanting to run his fingers through it and her beautiful cinnamon colored eyes held such depth, just remembering them made him wish he could dive into those very depths. He remembered how her tiny body had melded to his so well the few times she had embraced him, but he also remembered the strength he had felt in her arms as they had wrapped tightly around him, anchoring him to the world he knew he didn't belong in.

But that was Yuuki, she made him feel like he belonged. She had made him feel like the man he was born to be instead of the monster he had become thanks to the Pureblood Shizuka Hio. She had been his salvation with her blood and what sweet nectar her blood was. His throat ached as he remembered the way her blood had warmed him to his very core as his fangs had sank deep into her neck. Her blood had flowed throughout his entire body, feeding the monster that lie within, but she hadn't cared at all that he was turning into the very thing he despised above all else.

No, not Yuuki. She had remained by his side from the moment his vampire blood had taken control of his body. She had taken care of him, helping him to sate the needs that his inner monster demanded. All the while she had never once complained, never once back away from him in fear. When he needed her she was there, except now.

Making himself push away the haunting thoughts, of the girl who left him behind, he forced his eyes to scan the grounds again, keeping his mind solely on the task at hand. That's when he saw the carriage approaching the main gate.

His eyes followed the carriage's journey from the gate to the front of the headmaster's home. His heightened hearing picked up the sound of the headmaster opening his door and his took his eyes from the carriage to peer at the headmaster. Kaien Cross greeted his visitor warmly, embracing whoever it was that stepped out.

When the visitor stepped into the light, pouring through the open front door, the eyes of the vampire watching widened. He had known that Cross Academy was expecting a new day student to enroll, but he didn't think that the sight of the new girl would set his broken heart to thudding.

While his heart beat a rapid tattoo against his ribcage he had to force himself to turn away. There was no sense letting himself wonder why she effected him. He didn't need another girl in his life, he didn't need his tortured heart to become even more fragmented than it already was.

With that thought in mind he perched himself on the edge of his perch. Preparing to jump, the headmaster's voice cut into the night hair. The vampire sighed, fully hating the headmaster for calling on him. Cursing his luck he jumped and strolled to where Headmaster Cross stood waiting with the girl.

"Ah Zero! I glad you heard my call. I need you to come with me. We need to get Miss Rayne settled before I have you escort her to Yuuki's old room."

Zero turned to the girl in question. Something about her was off. He sensed a vampire's power, but all he could smell was a human. He couldn't see her face, not with it cloaked in shadows by the hood of her coat, as he eyed her from head to foot. Nonetheless he followed the headmaster and Miss Rayne inside. He figured that Miss Rayne, with her odd presence, was a mystery he would have to unravel.


	2. Chapter 1: The Story of Miss Rayne

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or Vampire Knight Guilty or any of the characters and storyline affiliated with the anime or the manga. All rights are reserved for it character. I only own my own character that I created for this story.**_

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**Chapter 1: The Story of Miss Rayne**

Days passed and Zero was still curious of the new Miss Rayne. She was different than the other students who attended Cross Academy. Where they were all happy and full of life she seemed to shy away from any form of happiness or friendship the other students tried to bestow upon her. Not only that but Zero found that he had a hard time keeping his eyes from her.

He tried to tell himself that it was her weird presence that kept him constantly eyeing her throughout the day, but he knew that her beauty was something to behold. She was as beautiful as the former night class students had been. She held the certain something that only a vampire could possess and yet she appeared and smelled completely human.

Like the other male students, Zero found himself drawn in by her shimmering waist length golden locks and her aquamarine eyes that reminded him so much of the ocean. Those eyes were set in a face that was porcelain perfection and as pale as newly fallen snow. Zero wondered how a mortal girl could achieve such perfection. She was like an angel, no more like a fallen angel, with her body clad in the Academy's mandatory black uniform.

Zero watched her now as she sat alone while the other kids sat in clusters eating their lunch. He noticed that no one tried to approach her and he didn't blame them. She had kindly, yet sternly, refused any and all invitations. It was if she liked being alone rather than in the company of others.

It was a feeling that Zero could relate to all too well. He hated feeling the press of bodies around him as he was forced to wade through the students to get to his destinations. He hated the suffocating smell of their blood pulsing through the bodies, causing his gums to ache as he fought to control his fangs from descending. He hated all the students for leading the normal happy life that he had been denied.

Sighing his discontent he noticed that Miss Rayne had left her sitting place and was heading towards the exit. He moved to follow her, pushing his way through the other students as fast as he could. He lost sight of her for a second but after scanning the foyer, outside the cafeteria, he spotted her heading outside.

He followed behind her as she walked out the doors and into the midday sun. Thankfully the sun did not bother him as he felt the heated rays tease his face. He didn't stop his pursuit until they both cocooned in the shadows of the trees lining the way to the main gate.

He stopped when he spotted her sitting under one of the willow trees set a little ways in. It was one of his favorite places and he wasn't happy knowing he was going to be sharing it with someone else. Nonetheless he approached her.

Her eyes snapped to his when she heard his footsteps. Those amazing blue green eyes held him captivated. Still it didn't stop him from taking a seat next to her.

"You followed me."

It wasn't a question, but a simple statement, Zero knew that by the tone of her voice. It was the first time he had ever heard her speak. Her voice was like ambrosia, smooth as honey and just as angelic as she looked.

"It's my job to keep watch. The headmaster doesn't like the students wandering around the school grounds."

"I apologize. I did not know."

She made to get up and leave but Zero grabbed her wrist, surprising the both of them. "Stay awhile. I want to talk to you."

"What is it you wish to talk about Zero Kiryu?"

He loved the way his name rolled from her tongue. It sent a shiver through him, but he forced himself to stay focused. "First off you can start by telling me what your first name is."

She seemed surprised that he had asked. She probably assumed that he already knew. "It is Arabella. My parents use to call me Bella, but…"

"But?"

"That was some time ago. It is just Arabella now."

Zero wondered what it was she had held back. He couldn't stop himself from asking. "You lost your parents didn't you?"

He saw a veil of sadness fall over her eyes. "Yes they were killed by vampires a few months ago. My grandfather took me in, but he became to sick and feeble to care for me. My father, his son, was friends with the headmaster here so my grandfather called Headmaster Cross and he agreed to allow me a room in his home and attendance to his school."

Zero wondered then why she reeked of vampire power if she was nothing more than a human, with human family. "Can I ask you something Arabella?"

"I do not see why not."

"Tell me, why is it your presence seems like that of a vampire when you are nothing but a human?"

Her eyes widened at his question. "You can sense the vampire charm?"

"The vampire charm? What are you talking about?"

"My father was a vampire hunter before he was killed. He went to great lengths to make sure that vampires could not detect my human blood. I had no desire to become a hunter and he said it was the only way to keep me safe."

He noted the venom in her voice when she spat out the word vampire. He could feel her hatred for the ghastly beings, beings like him. He didn't blame her though. Her parents had been murdered by the fiends he was forced to acknowledge as brethren.

She was looking at him with eyes full of sadness. He couldn't help but reach out and place a hand on her shoulder in comfort, though he knew he had no right to do so since he was one of the creatures she despised. Still he felt as if he had to comfort her. "Arabella I understand the anguish you're feeling. My entire family was killed by a vampire when I was very young. Headmaster Cross took me in afterwards and raised me with his daughter."

The mention of the headmaster's daughter pained him and Arabella noticed but she was curious. "Where is the headmaster's daughter? I have not seen her."

"She went away several months ago."

Zero said no more as he stood. He offered Arabella a hand and helped her to her feet. Together they walked back towards the Academy. Zero glanced at her from time to time only to see the same sadness there as before. After one last look he forced himself to face the building before him. At least he had unraveled the mystery of Miss Arabella Rayne.


	3. Chapter 2: A Dutiful Help

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or Vampire Knight Guilty or any of the characters and storyline affiliated with the anime or the manga. All rights are reserved for it character. I only own my own character that I created for this story.**_

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**Chapter 2: A Dutiful Help**

Zero headed towards the headmaster's office. He hated when he was called away from what little peace and quiet he found. It seemed to him that Headmaster Cross had taken it upon himself to fill his days so he would not have time to laze around brooding over a girl who was never coming back. Zero did not like or want the headmaster's sympathy or interference. It was his heart that had been so savaged trampled upon so it was his right to feel however he wished to feel.

That aside, he could ignore a summons from Kaien Cross. He did owe the man a lot for taking him in and keeping the Vampire Hunter's Association from extinguishing him, and above all else he had known that he was taking the blood from his beloved Yuuki.

Zero pushed all thoughts of Yuuki to the dark recess at the back of his mind as he pushed open the door to Headmaster Cross's office. Upon entering he caught a whiff of Arabella's delectable scent. Her scent taunted his nose and he had to try to control the vampire within as it demanded his take her life essence. He calmed himself before he continued into the room only to catch sight of her standing before the headmaster's desk.

Zero wondered why she was in the headmaster's office as he approached to stand beside her. Headmaster Cross was standing before the window, behind his desk, gazing out into the growing darkness of the night. When he turned to face his two pupils he smiled.

"Zero you came."

"As if I had any other choice."

"So mean Zero. That aside I called you both here today because it had come to my attention that you, Zero, need some help on patrol so I have enlisted the help of Miss Rayne."

Zero caught the double meaning behind the headmaster's declaration. _So the fool thinks I need help. Why can't he just leave me be in peace? He should know, as well as anyone, how it feels to lose someone dear to them. Why does he think I need the extra attention, knowing that I do not want such interference in my life?_

"I don't need any help."

Zero gritted his teeth as the headmaster continued to smile at him like the paternal figure he had absolutely no need of. "Despite what you want Zero Miss Rayne will be accompanying you on your nightly patrols."

Zero just glared at the headmaster. This was a stupid thing for the headmaster to do. How could he put such an innocent, helpless mortal girl at his side knowing that his vampire was still only barely contained? Why did he have to put such temptation before him? He was like a lion and the headmaster was willingly giving him the succulent lamb.

Zero sighed. He glanced at Arabella wondering what she was thinking. She had not said a word since he arrived and he wondered if she really wanted to do this. He sighed again as he turned his gaze back to Kaien Cross. "As you wish Headmaster."

With that he turned and left making sure to slam the door behind him to show his agitation and discontent. He was heading down the stairs when he felt a hand grasp his wrist. He turned around to find Arabella standing there chewing her bottom lip.

The sight of her worrying her lip stirred the beast within. He took a deep breath to calm the rising bloodlust. "What?" His harshness caused her to release his wrist and stare at him with widened eyes. "Look I'm sorry. I just don't need any help."

"The headmaster seems to think otherwise. Zero I promise I will stay out of your way just let me help you."

Her tone had a pleading edge to it. _She doesn't know what she's being asked to do. If she knew what I really was, what the headmaster had put her in the position to do; he knew she would run away screaming. I'm the embodiment of the very thing she hates most._

He gazed into the pleading aquamarine eyes and knew that he resolve on the matter was broken. He could not say no to her any more than he had been able to do with Yuuki. He closed his eyes as he nodded his head in compliance. When he opened his eyes a small smile played upon her lips.

It was the first time he had seen her smile and that smile caused something long forgotten to stir within him. He hadn't felt this stirring since Yuuki's touch had become lost to him. He didn't want to have to deal with these weak human emotions, but nonetheless the girl before him stirred his human heart.

He felt her hand grasp his own and the heat of her skin against his sent electric currants throughout his entire body. I wanted to pull away, knew he should, but for some reason he allowed himself the sensation of her touch. It brought him a measure of comfort that he didn't know he had yearned for. _Maybe the headmaster is right. Just being near her makes me feel better to some extent. Until this moment I didn't think I need the comfort of another person, but I have seen that I was wrong. _

He tugged gently to let her know she should follow him as he made his way down the stairs and out the front door into the night that blanketed the world around them. She didn't release his hand as she walked along side him as they began their first patrol together. They didn't say a word as the walked towards the willow tree where they had first spoken together only days before.

Together they sat hands still entwined. Zero could feel her heart radiating through him through the connection of their palms. He had missed the sensation of another person's warmth. He leaned back against the tree in content. He felt Arabella's eyes on him, but he could make himself break the comfortable silence. There was no need for him to do so because her voice broke out into the night.

"You seem somewhat different than you did just a few minutes ago. You seem less guarded."

He turned to her and said nothing. He could not with the beautiful sight of the moon reflecting in her eyes. He swallowed hard as he felt both the human desire stirring and the never ending bloodlust of the vampire within him.

Zero knew as soon as she pulled her hand from his and her eyes took on a slightly frightened look that she had seen the blood colored luster in his eyes. She had seen what he had hoped she would never see. He turned his face away.


	4. Chapter 3: The Acceptance of the Monster

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or Vampire Knight Guilty or any of the characters and storyline affiliated with the anime or the manga. All rights are reserved for it character. I only own my own character that I created for this story.**_

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**Chapter 3: Her Acceptance of the Monster**

Zero kept his face turned away from hers. He knew she was frightened and he couldn't blame her. His face was that of a monster's. He had tried to keep his beast at bay but when his human desire had been awakened so had the bloodlust of the beast.

He was shocked, to say the least, when he felt a tentative hand touch his cheek. He couldn't help but lean into the touch though he tried hard not to. He forced himself to look into her eyes. The fear was still there but there was something else hidden underneath the fear, something he had only ever seen in the eyes of Yuuki.

"Why did you not tell me Zero? Why did you not tell me that you were a vampire?"

"Would it have mattered had I did or didn't? Had I done so you would have looked at me as you are now."

She was silent a minute. "How did it happen?"

"I told you that my family was slaughtered by a vampire, everyone except me and later I learned by twin brother was also spared. This vampire was a Pureblood by the name of Shizuka Hio. After she slaughtered my family she took blood from me and her bite, the bite of a Pureblood, turned me into this. I was destined to become a Level E but after my brother gave his blood to me I was able to fight the insanity and this is what I am now. I'm neither a human nor a Pureblood. I'm just a vampire who was lucky enough to resist the insanity of Level E."

"Do you not have the blood tablets that have been spread out amongst the vampire community?"

Zero laughed. "They don't work for me. They make me sick. Only human blood or that of another vampire seems to keep the beast satisfied."

He expected her to look at him in disgust but instead he saw understanding in her blue tinted depths. "I am sorry. What a horrible fate that life has dealt to you."

"Don't fret about it. I have lived with this curse for almost five years now."

"Do you not have anyone to confide in? Someone who knows of your infliction?"

Zero felt the familiar pain brought on by thinking of Yuuki. "I did but she's gone now. She had turned out to be a Pureblood under the guise of a human thanks to her mother and father. They had wanted to protect her. The human girl I…" He stopped and rephrased his statement. "The human girl she had been was no more. She left with another Pureblood and I haven't seen her since. She isn't coming back."

"She left with a Pureblood? You must be talking about Headmaster Cross's daughter Yuuki. My grandfather had told me her story before he had sent me here." She could feel the sadness pouring from him in waves of misery. "You had loved her did you not?"

"It doesn't matter now whether I did or didn't. She's gone and she isn't coming back. There's nothing I can do about that now. I moved in my life. I moved past her."

Arabella placed her other hand on his remaining cheek and forced him to look at her fully. "You may have gotten over her but the pain is still fresh in your heart. I can feel it pouring off of you. The pain must be suffocating."

"Yeah."

Arabella surprised Zero when she pulled him towards her. Her hands left his face as her arms came around him. He allowed himself to revel in her embrace. He buried his face into her neck as her arms tightened around him.

A slight tilt of her head and a gentle breeze sent her scent spiraling through his nose. His bloodlust rose again. He tried to pull away, to distance himself from the temptation holding him but she only tightened her embrace more.

"Arabella let me go."

"You want my blood. It is okay. I offer it to you."

"I can't. I don't want to hurt you."

"You will not Zero. Take from me what you need. Please do not worry. It really is okay."

Zero brushed the hair away from her neck and she tilted her head slightly more. He felt his fangs descend as he leaned down to run his tongue along the bend of her neck. He sank his fangs in deep, pulling the sweet nectar of her into his mouth. Her blood was rich, heady, like a fine wine as it poured down his throat. He drank like a parched man left long without water.

He pulled away, licking the few drops of blood that escaped from his marks, when her arms loosened from around him. He noticed the smile playing across her lips as she turned her head to look at him. "Are you okay Arabella?"

"I am fine Zero."

"Thank you."

"No, Zero, do not thank me. I am here to assist you in any way that I can. I believe the headmaster knew that you needed someone to accept you for everything that you are."

And with that Zero knew she accepted not only his human side but the monster that dwelled just beneath the surface. At long last he felt a balm settle over the broken fragments of his heart and soul. Finally his monster felt at peace as well.


	5. Epilogue: A Happy Ending

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight or Vampire Knight Guilty or any of the characters and storyline affiliated with the anime or the manga. All rights are reserved for it character. I only own my own character that I created for this story.**_

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**Epilogue: A Happy Ending**

Kaien Cross watched from his window as the vampire, he accepted as his son, walked with the girl that had come into his care a few short months ago. He had known that when he had taken her in that she would be the perfect person to soothe the ache in Zero's heart. He had been right when he had pushed the two together under the guise of patrol duty.

He had watched as the months went on and the two had grown comfortable with each other and then fallen in love. He had been glad to see Zero's heart heal after the loose of Yuuki. The vampire had brooded and sulked for far too long. He had deserved another chance at happiness and Kaien Cross was happy that Zero had finally found a happiness that rivaled that of what Yuuki had once, long ago, given him.

While the headmaster watched them from his office window, Zero and Arabella strolled through the grounds hand in hand. Both were happier than they had ever been and despite the hardships they had both endured they had found love in the other.

Zero reveled in the feel of her hand in his, her warm permeating through his being, his heart and his soul. Finally the beast that had haunted his life was at peace, finally he was at peace with life and with himself and it was all because of the girl walking happily along beside him. Because of her he had found a place in a world that had seemed so harsh and cold to him before. He finally understood the ideology of Headmaster Cross. He knew know that humans and vampires could coexist just as the headmaster had wanted when he had first begun Cross Academy.

Stopping by the fountain, centered in the walkway in front of the school, Zero pulled Arabella to him. He embraced her beneath the full moon shining down upon them from high up into the night sky. He buried his face into the hair at the juncture of her neck and collar bone and inhaled her scent deeply. The beast, the bloodlust, remained silent as he took pleasure in her wonderful human fragrance.

Zero sighed a happy content sigh as he felt the warmth of her arms come around him and hold him close. He was truly happy standing here with Arabella. He had found a happiness he never thought the he deserved. He had found acceptance for not only himself but the monster he also was. Arabella had shown him an unconditional love and her love had healed him. Her love had become the very salvation his tortured soul had yearned for.

They pulled away once again walking hand in hand. From the distance, where they were being watched unnoticed, the headmaster smiled at the pair as the walked through the night completely oblivious to anything or anyone, completely and utterly blinded by the love they shared.

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_Well here's another Vampire Knight story. I had originally planned on writing a lemon but decided on sweet simple love story. I didn't want to blemish their love with a sex scene. Sorry to those who expected one. Maybe my next story will have some lemony goodness. Please review and flames are also welcome._


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